spill the beans

/ˌspɪl ðə ˈbiːnz/

verb

To reveal a secret; to disclose information.

“They had planned it as a surprise party, but somebody spilled the beans.”

Similar
let the cat out of the bagspill one's gutsspill the teatalktattleblabpeachbabble
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Meanings

verbspill the beans (third-person singular simple present spills the beans, present participle spilling the beans, simple past and past participle spilled the beans or spilt the beans)

present singular third person spills the beans · participle present spilling the beans · participle past spilled the beans · past spilled the beans · participle past spilt the beans · past spilt the beans

  1. idiomaticintransitiveTo reveal a secret; to disclose information.

    They had planned it as a surprise party, but somebody spilled the beans.

    4 more examples

    I guarantee you, someone's going to spill the beans and next thing this shit's all over the news.

    2008, Patricia Cornwell, Point Of Origin

    He accepted a contract to kill you and Frank DePalma. You because she couldn't be sure what Wennington had told you, and Frank because he got cold feet and was about to spill the beans.

    2017, Wade Fowler, The Honey Trap

    More unsettling was the origin story of the infamous tell-all book Princess in Love. Diana claimed to be outraged in 1994 when Daily Express journalist Anna Pasternak spilled the beans of her affair with former army officer James Hewitt[…]

    April 5 2022, Tina Brown, “How Princess Diana’s Dance With the Media Impacted William and Harry”, in Vanity Fair

    Shall we meet up for a meal and I think I can be persuaded to spill the beans if I drink enough wine.

    2022, Spencer Coleman, Facade

    Synonyms: let the cat out of the bag, spill one's guts, spill the tea

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo reveal a secret; to disclose information.

Similar
let the cat out of the bagspill one's gutsspill the tea

More synonyms by meaning

verbdivulge confidential information or secrets

Similar
let the cat out of the bagtalktattleblabpeachbabblesingbabble outblab outspill
Broader
unwrapdiscloselet on
Also see
babbleblabblab outconfessdivulgelet the cat out of the bagmake a clean breastpeachrevealsingspillspill one's gutsspill the teatalktattletell all

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

First attested in 20th century American English. One possible origin for the phrase is from an Ancient Greek practice of using different-coloured beans for voting, where spilling the jar containing them would unwantedly reveal the results, though this might be folk etymology.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian издавам тайната, проговоря
  • издавам тайната (izdavam tajnata)to reveal a secret; to disclose information — see also let the cat out of the bag
  • проговоря (progovorja)to reveal a secret; to disclose information — see also let the cat out of the bag
Chinese Cantonese 爆料出嚟
  • 爆料出嚟 (baau³ liu² ceot¹ lai⁴)to reveal a secret; to disclose information — see also let the cat out of the bag
Chinese Mandarin 露餡 /露馅
  • 露餡 /露馅 (lòuxiàn)to reveal a secret; to disclose information — see also let the cat out of the bag
Danish spilde teen
  • spilde teento reveal a secret; to disclose information — see also let the cat out of the bag
Dutch een boekje opendoen
  • een boekje opendoento reveal a secret; to disclose information — see also let the cat out of the bag
Finnish kieliä, paljastaa
  • kieliäto reveal a secret; to disclose information — see also let the cat out of the bag
  • paljastaato reveal a secret; to disclose information — see also let the cat out of the bag
  • laverrellato reveal a secret; to disclose information — see also let the cat out of the bag
French cracher le morceau, lâcher le morceau
  • cracher le morceauto reveal a secret; to disclose information — see also let the cat out of the bag
  • lâcher le morceauto reveal a secret; to disclose information — see also let the cat out of the bag
  • vendre la mècheto reveal a secret; to disclose information — see also let the cat out of the bag
German ausplaudern, auspacken
  • ausplaudernto reveal a secret; to disclose information — see also let the cat out of the bag
  • auspackento reveal a secret; to disclose information — see also let the cat out of the bag
  • alles verratento reveal a secret; to disclose information — see also let the cat out of the bag
Greek χύνω το τσάι
  • χύνω το τσάι (chýno to tsái)to reveal a secret; to disclose information — see also let the cat out of the bag
Hebrew הִלְשִׁין
  • הִלְשִׁין (hilshín)to reveal a secret; to disclose information — see also let the cat out of the bag
Hungarian elárul, kitálal
  • elárulto reveal a secret; to disclose information — see also let the cat out of the bag
  • kitálalto reveal a secret; to disclose information — see also let the cat out of the bag
  • eljár a szájato reveal a secret; to disclose information — see also let the cat out of the bag
Icelandic leysa frá skjóðunni, kjafta frá
  • leysa frá skjóðunnito reveal a secret; to disclose information — see also let the cat out of the bag
  • kjafta fráto reveal a secret; to disclose information — see also let the cat out of the bag
Italian vuotare il sacco, sputare il rospo
  • vuotare il saccoto reveal a secret; to disclose information — see also let the cat out of the bag
  • sputare il rospoto reveal a secret; to disclose information — see also let the cat out of the bag
  • spifferareto reveal a secret; to disclose information — see also let the cat out of the bag
  • gettare il sangueto reveal a secret; to disclose information — see also let the cat out of the bag
  • cantareto reveal a secret; to disclose information — see also let the cat out of the bag
Polish puszczać farbę, puścić farbę
  • puszczać farbęto reveal a secret; to disclose information — see also let the cat out of the bag
  • puścić farbęto reveal a secret; to disclose information — see also let the cat out of the bag
  • uchylać rąbka tajemnicyto reveal a secret; to disclose information — see also let the cat out of the bag
  • uchylić rąbka tajemnicyto reveal a secret; to disclose information — see also let the cat out of the bag
Portuguese confessar
  • confessarto reveal a secret; to disclose information — see also let the cat out of the bag
Romanian da din casă, trăda un secret
  • da din casăto reveal a secret; to disclose information — see also let the cat out of the bag
  • trăda un secretto reveal a secret; to disclose information — see also let the cat out of the bag
Russian проговори́ться, проболта́ться
  • проговори́ться (progovorítʹsja)to reveal a secret; to disclose information — see also let the cat out of the bag
  • проболта́ться (proboltátʹsja)to reveal a secret; to disclose information — see also let the cat out of the bag
Spanish irse de la lengua, cantar de plano
  • irse de la lenguato reveal a secret; to disclose information — see also let the cat out of the bag
  • cantar de planoto reveal a secret; to disclose information — see also let the cat out of the bag
  • soltar la sopato reveal a secret; to disclose information — see also let the cat out of the bag
Swedish spilla teet
  • spilla teetto reveal a secret; to disclose information — see also let the cat out of the bag
Welsh gollwng y ffa
  • gollwng y ffato reveal a secret; to disclose information — see also let the cat out of the bag

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with spill the beans

meansteensjeansqueensgreensmarinesKeynesleanssardinessmithereensby no meanscampfire beanscool beansleafy greensMcMeanspacked like sardinesRegion of Queens
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

spill the beans. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spill%20the%20beans

MLA

“spill the beans.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spill%20the%20beans. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “spill the beans,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spill%20the%20beans.

Source: spill the beans on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.